My Life Is a Fortune Cookie Filled with Surprises
Thursday – Entry 46: The other day I went in for my very first root canal. Because of a hiccup in the insurance I couldn’t get my face drilled that day and had to reschedule. I’ve only had one cavity in my life and it came right at the end of my marriage, so I put off taking care of it…for two years. Obviously, cavities left alone become bigger problems, but it didn’t hurt so I could ignore it and simply chew on the other side. Until my tooth was chipped last month (while eating a hard candy…sheered a corner right off!), I had never had any dental work done on my teeth. I knew nothing of needles and drills. Whe...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 10, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Tags: ADHD Coping Depression Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs
Two gifts and a consolation prize
President Obama has a few good ideas.
He wants Americans to discuss healthcare this holiday season. That’s actually a really good idea.
This blog aims to do some good in the area of medicine and health. What follows are two incredibly important essays. The consolation prize is an excerpt from my recent Top Ten post. I chose this particular excerpt because in my view the most impactful cardiology study of 2013 involved two prominent themes of this blog–arrhythmia and the power of lifestyle choices.
On over-treatment and the collective inability to give peace a chance:
Dr. Rob Lamberts is a primary care doctor, a...
Source: Dr John M - December 24, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr John Source Type: blogs
Do You Believe More Vaccines or Better Nutrition Prevents Disease?
Conclusion
Tremendous government financial and medical resources are wasted on the development of more vaccinations to prevent diseases. No research has proven the effectiveness of vaccinations in preventing illness. Overwhelming evidence exists to show vaccines are dangerous to health and contribute to illness, injury and death.
To prevent disease, one should avoid vaccinations, mercury dental fillings and toxic food. Following a nutrient-dense diet of whole, organic foods and removing toxic metals from the body are the best avenues to try and prevent illness and enhance health.
References
http://www.fierce...
Source: vactruth.com - December 20, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Michelle Goldstein Tags: Michelle Goldstein Top Stories Dr. Russell Blaylock National Institutes of Health (NIH) Nutrition truth about vaccines Weston Price Source Type: blogs
Predicting compliance for mandible advancement splint therapy in 96 obstructive sleep apnea patients
Eur J Orthod (2013) 35 (6): 752-757. doi: 10.1093/ejo/cjs092 ...
Source: Dental Technology Blog - December 12, 2013 Category: Dentists Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, December 12, 2013
From MedPage Today:
Mutation May Speed Dx, Tx of Insulinoma. A newly identified mutation occurs in 30% of insulinomas and may provide new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the disorder.
Glucose Control Better With Pharmacist Help. Diabetic patients who were counseled by pharmacists did better at managing their blood sugar over a 2-year period than patients in standard treatment.
CPAP Tackles Resistant HTN. Among obstructive sleep apnea patients with resistant hypertension, treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) lowered both daytime and nighttime blood pressure in a multicenter.
Ban Drug Reps From ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - December 12, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Endocrinology Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
Philips Launches World’s First Gel Pillows Mask for Sleep Apnea Patients
Philips Respironics has launched the world’s first gel pillows mask called Nuance to help patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea get a better night’s sleep while benefiting from continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. The Nuance masks have a gel padded frame and a non-slip head gear to prevent displacement in the middle of the night.
The gel frame can be replaced by a fabric frame for those who prefer the feel of that material. Both the gel frame and the fabric frame options come with lightweight tubing that is connected to the patient’s CPAP systems. Prior to use of the headgear an...
Source: Medgadget - December 11, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Cardiology ENT Medicine Source Type: blogs
Sorin Group Gets CE Mark for MRI Compatible KORA 100 Pacing System
The Sorin Group announced it has received CE Mark approval for its MRI compatible KORA 100 SR and DR pacing systems, one of which has been successfully implanted in a 79-year-old man. When an MRI instrument begins scanning, the KORA 100 is able to detect the magnetic field that passes through the tissue, and switches to Automatic MRI Mode with the Sorin BEFLEX pacing lead, reducing risk of tachycardia.The system also detects when the MRI scan is complete and resumes its normal operating mode within 5 minutes.
The KORA 100 also features other proprietary Sorin technologies, including SafeR to monitor left ventricular pacing...
Source: Medgadget - December 6, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Nishey Wanchoo Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Radiology Source Type: blogs
Philips Respironics Launches a Better Fitting Face Mask with Gel Cushion for Sleep Apnea Patients
Philips Respironics (Murrysville, PA), a unit of Royal Philips, has launched a smaller, lighter and more comfortable full face mask called Amara with a gel cushion for patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. The Amara mask has a unique modular design with a “one click” assembly that enables easy disassembling and reassembling of the gel cushion and mask frame for cleaning and replacement. The device is advertised as having 60% fewer parts than competing technologies even with the silicone or gel cushions in place.
The Amara face mask with the new gel option reduces pressure points through the unique c...
Source: Medgadget - November 22, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Cardiology ENT Medicine Source Type: blogs
Nyxoah Implant for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring
Nyxoah, a Belgian-Israeli firm, has developed an implantable device that may offer a brand new treatment option for managing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring that can muffle passing trains. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is probably the most common way of treating OSA, but it requires wearing a face mask connected by a hose to an air pump. All kinds of ingenuity has been invested into making these masks more comfortable and less intrusive, but the hose remains and it can feel unnatural to breathe through these devices.
Nyxoah’s solution is a tiny implant, surgically inserted in about 15 minutes at the back...
Source: Medgadget - November 7, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: in the news... Source Type: blogs
Diabetes and the "Obesity Paradox"
By David Spero
We hear constant warnings about how fatness leads to diabetes. But a wide range of studies show heavy people live longer and do better with diabetes and heart disease. This is called the "obesity paradox." What does it mean?
In an article in The New York Times, science writer Harriet Brown reports on the work of Dr. Mercedes Carnethon at Northwestern University. Dr. Carnethon has found that thinner people with diabetes have twice the death rate as those who are overweight or obese.
Carnethon's findings are typical. As Brown writes,
"n study after study, overweight and moderately obese patients with certain ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - November 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Sleep Duration Linked to Chronic Conditions
By Diane Fennell
We have previously written about the connection between sleep and health, including the role of sleep apnea in Type 2 diabetes, the importance of sleep for heart health, and the link between poor sleep and diabetes control. Now a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further underscores the association, finding that too much or too little sleep is linked to a variety of chronic health conditions.
To determine how sleep duration is related to obesity, anxiety, coronary heart disease, and diabetes, researchers looked at data from 54,269 adults age 45 or older who had completed ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 18, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Had I met her anywhere but the hospital, I would have helped her
Had I met her anywhere but the hospital, I would have gone to her side. I would have asked her what was wrong. I would have offered to help.
She was 99-years-old and about to undergo surgery. Pre-operative holding is generally a busy place. Patients lie in gurneys, spending some last moments with loved ones and fielding questions from various players of the surgical team as they come to the bedside. No, I’ve never had surgery before. Yes, I have sleep apnea. Just gonna place your IV! It’s a highly controlled, organized process. Nurses, anesthesiologists, surgeons come with specific tasks to be done: forms to be signed...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 16, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Education Geriatrics Hospital Medical school Source Type: blogs
NutriSurface, A Smart Nutritional Scale That Promotes Healthy Eating (Interview)
Reflex Wireless, a Canadian company, has been developing innovative mobile solutions to help people measure and track their nutrition intake and hydration. We found that the company’s previous offering, a Bluetooth enabled smart scale named Nutricrystal, was extremely helpful for people to measure their daily nutritional intake, and its capabilities far exceeded those of conventional food measuring scales. The company is set to launch a Kickstarter Campaign for its latest product in November, so we took the opportunity to speak with Reflex Wireless’s President and Co-Founder, Andy Tsai, to learn more about thei...
Source: Medgadget - October 10, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Medgadget Exclusive Source Type: blogs
Treatment or mutilation?
I have been sitting with the following image from Dr. Sharma's Obesity Notes for a coupe of weeks now. The image is an illustration of a procedure known as sleeve gastrectomy, defined in Wikipedia as "a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 25% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach along the greater curvature."
This is not a procedure done on a diseased organ but on a healthy functioning one. When an adult chooses this procedure in order to lose weight, I understand that, though I have grave res...
Source: Jung At Heart - October 8, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Could your sleep be hurting your heart?
For many, snoring is not just an annoying habit that drives your loved ones crazy, it is a symptom of sleep apnea. Other signs of sleep apnea include sleepiness during the day and headaches in the morning.Sleep apnea is a serious breathing issue.This condition has be shown to seriously impact the heart. Studies have shown that sleep apnea is linked to hypertension, abnormal heart rhtyhms, heart attacks, heart failure and death. Continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) is an effective treatment. CPAP can greatly reduced the frequency and severity of apneic episodes. Two recent studies have shown that using a ...
Source: Dr Portnay - October 8, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs
